Tagging-machine



V. F. CARL.

TAGGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. I3. I9I9.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEEI l.

I l I V. F. CARL.

TAGGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IIov. I3, 1919.

1,396,406. v Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TMI

V. F. CARL.

TAGGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Mov. 13. 1919.

1,396,406. Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TAGGING-MACHINE.

Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Application led November 13, 1919. Serial No. 337,815.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, VICTOR F. CARL, a citizen of the United States, and `resident of Brookline, county of Norfolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Tagging-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts in each of the several views.

This invention relates to apparatus for afiixing tags to articles of merchandise such as textile and dry goods in general and includes in its more comprehensive embodiment means for printing distinctive marks such as price or size marks or both on each tag 'and also means for severing individual tags .from a strip of tag stock which may be of paste-hoard or other suitable material as usual. A principal object of the invention is to provide a machine of the typestated that is capable of rapid and semi-automatic movement for printing, severing and affixing to the article to be tagged, individual tags in a reliable, accurate manner with provision for closing and pressing down the pin points of the tag under the surface of the Aiaterial in the same way that the tags are commonly affixed by hand but insuring a more complete flattening and securing of the crossed pin points than is attainable in the ordinary hand affixing. A further important advantage in the use of the present apparatus is that it aids in safe-guarding the operator against being pricked by the pin points both in affixing the tags and in handling the tagged merchandise afterward. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description, and the distinctive features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the essential working portions of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof with parts broken away in vertical section and other parts .removed g Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail on line 30-3 of Fig. 2 showing a one-way driving connection to the operating shaft;

Fig. 4 is a transverse-section on line A4---4 of Fig. 2;

F1a'- '5 1s a twister-se section en line ,5f-5

of Fig. Q, looking in the direction of the arrows Fig. 6 is a detail plan view showing certain of the pin bending instrumentalities removed;

Fig. 7 is .f1 sectional detail of the pin bending and flattening head;

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic elevations showing successive stages in the affixing of the tags and the fiattening down of the pins in crossed relation;

Fig. 11 is a bottom plan view showing an illustrative form of printing die or plate;

Fig. 12 is a detail elevation showing the tag holding plate which is removably fixed to the bottom of the tag applying head; and

Fig. 13 is an elevation showing a portion of a strip of tag stock equipped with pins and adapted to be used in the present machine.

10 indicates a suitable table top or support for the operative elements of the apparatus. To this support is fixed a bracket mounting 11 of a vlength corresponding to the lengthwise extension of the operative elements and having a horizontal extension 11a overhanging the table and spaced a short distance thereabove sufficient to permit the insertion and handling of the material pieces thereunder. Betweenthis overhanging extension 11n and the table top is mounted a presser plate 12 under which the material is adapted to be engaged. This presser plate is fixed to the table support at its inner end as indicated at 12a and its forward4 portion is recessed as indicated at 12b to permit the movement of the tag applying head therethrough. The extension `11a is formed with a vertical slideway 13 adjacent one end thereof in which is fitted for sliding movementa tag applying head 14:. This head has a post 15 projecting upwardly therefrom equipped with a laterally extending arm 15 which is engaged by a vnut head 16 adjustably fitted to the upper end of a rod 17 fitted for vertical movement in the support. Thus a downward movement of the rod 17 will press downward the head 14, while a compression coil spring 18 re-acting against the bracket support 11 presses underneath thcl arm 15 and'tends constantly to hold the head 14 elevated. The lower end of the rod 17 is equipped with a lateral arm 19 bearing aI roller 19at its extremity and this roller is Yheld by the spring 1:8 yin constant engagenient with the periphery of a cam 2O which is fixed on an operating shaft 21 which for present purposes may be considered the prime drive shaft of the machine. The `post 15 also constitutes a plunger having a ca pacity for limited movement with respect to the head 14. For this purpose a compression coil spring 22 is housed in the head. 14 and reacts upwardly against a flange 23 borne by the plunger 15 normally holding the plunger with an enlarged head l5h thereof at an upper limit of movement and so that the bottom of the plunger head 15b is substantially flush with the top of a tag holding socket 24 in the bottom of the head 14 as now to be described. This tag holding socket or seat 24 is formed in a plate 25 removably fixed to i the bottom of the head 14, this plate being of a U-shape as seen in Fig. 12 so as to permit the tags to be slid thereinto bythe feeding device to be described, and being equipped with ledges 24"L at each side of suchsocket to retain the tag therein with a capabilitj,7 of being yieldingly pressed outward therefrom after the tag is affixed to the material. The intermediate side of this plate 25 at the outer side of the head thus serves as a limiting and positioning stop to determine the position of the tag and locate ,it in alinement for application to the material. lt will be understood that different plates 25 with tag holding sockets of varying sizes according Yto the dimensions Vof the tags being handled may be selectively employed. lVhen the head 14 is elevated the tag holding seat 24 is in alinement with a guideway 26 for the tag strip which is carried by the rearward portion of the extension 11a. To effect the accurate alinement of the socket 24 with this guideway the nut 16 is adjustable on the rod`17 and is preferably equipped with a knurled head 16 for convenientmanipula tion. As a further aid to this alinement in case the cam 20 should become worn or not be accurately positioned, I may also employ a nut 27 threaded on the lower portion of the' rod 17 and engaging a spacing sleeve 28 on said rod, the top 'of which sleeve engages the bottom of the table 10. The sleeve 26 may be also equipped to actuate the presser plate 12 to lift the same slightly for insertion of the work and for this purpose I show `it equipped with a forwardly Vand upwardly extending finger 29 which engages underneath the plate 12 toward the rear thereof as indicated at 29a.

The guideway 26 for the tag stripextends to the inner or receiving end of the bracket 11 which has a slot 30 formed lengthwise throughv the base thereof to receive the penetrating prongs or pins P of the tagsfand permit them to slide therealong.v TheV top surface of the extension 11a at eachy side of the slot 30 has fitted thereto spacing plates 31 the dimensions ofwhich maybe varied according to the size of the tags being handled and over these plates a cover plate 32 is fixed, this plate constituting the top retaining surface of'the tag guideway 26. The plate 32 has a passage 32a therethrough to afford clearance for the movement of a printing die 33 which is removably fitted to the bottom of a presser head 34 slidably fitted for vertical movement in ways 34L of the support. The printing die 33 may have lateral flanges thereof engaged in undercut way in the bottom of the head 34 as indicated at 33a and it may be locked against displacement by a latch 35 .pivoted to the head at 35a. The head 34 is also equipped with a shear knife 36 which is shown as spaced from the die 33 the length of one tag and is also in position with respect to the head 14 to sever the tag` which has been positioned in the socket 24V of the head 14. For actuating the head34 to sever the tags and to print the same, said head is equipped on its top with a laterally extending bar projection 341 which is engaged by a pull rod 37, the lower end of which is pivoted at 38 to a lever 39 which is pivoted at 40 to a bracket 41 depending from the table. The outer end of the lever arm 39 is equipped with a roller 42 which engages a cam 43 fixed to the shaft 21. The roller 42 is held against this cam with a tendency to move the head 34 upward by a coil spring 44 which reacts against the rod 37 to press the same'upward. It will be noted from Fig. 5 thatthe relation ofthe cams 43 and 2() on the shaft 21 is such that when said shaft turns in a counter clockwise direction the cam 43 will first act to press the head 34 downward severing the foremost tag which is then in the socket 24 and printing the tag which'is second back therefrom just be- ,fore the head 14 is pressed downward to apply the foremost tag to the material.A It will also be noted that by thus printing the second tag back from the tag applying station each 1novementthere is allowed an interval of time for the ink of the impressiento strike in and dry before the printed tag is engaged by the applying instrumentalitics. For moving the tag strip forward in the vguideway 26 the resilient presser finger or prong 45 is provided, this member being carried by a lever arm 46 which is pivoted to the frame work at 47. The arm 46V is acted on by a spring 48 to move the finger 45 for feeding movement when permitted by a cam149 which is secured to the shaft 21; VThis cam whichengages a downward extension 461 of the lever arm 46 has a "contour such as to draw back the finger or prong 45 over the tag strip during the period of lactuation of the heads 14 and 34 andlit releases the arm 46 for forward operative movement upon the upward retraction of these heads. For the'operatiop of the prick into the tag for feeding engagement.`

lVith the mechanism so far described the tags are fed successively into operative position and printed and severed and then pressed down on to the surface of the material that is to receive them. In this operation it will be noted that after the tag is borne down on to the material surface by the head lef, there is a small further movement of the plunger head l5b occasioned by the yielding of the spring 22 which causes the head l5b to engage directly upon the Vlooped back of the tag pin to hold it firmly assembled with the tag and the tag pressed securely and immovably upon the material with the spaced apart pin prongs penetrating through the material and projecting underneath the same. For initially bending these pin prongs so as to cross them, oppositely acting slide bars 5l, 52 are pro- 'ided, these being operative in guides 53 underneath the table base l and in alinement with the pin prongs as the tag is pressed to the material by the head 14. It will be noted that the table l0 is provided with a slot 53a through which the pin prongs project so as to be engaged by these slide bars. T he slide bars l, 52 are engaged for actuation by the ends of levers 54, 55, respectively, which are pivoted underneath the table to adjustable pivots 5G. The pivots 5G are adjustable so as to insure exactly simultaneous operation of the two slide bars 5l, and also to take care of differences in spacing of the pin prongs, and for this purpose these pivots are carried by pivot blocks 5T slidably held underneath the table and adjusted by screws 5S. The inner ends of the levers 54. 55 are engaged b v slide bars 59 guided underneath the table, and the inner ends of these bars have pins or rollers which are engaged by a cam 6l fixed on a shaft 62 vertically journaled in a bracket G3 fixed to and depending from the table base. The shaft 62 has fixed at its lower end a spiral gear Gil which is driven by a spiral pinion 65 shown as one-half the size of the gear 6l and fixed on the shaft 2l. Thus the shaft 62 will be driven at one-half the rate of the shaft 2l and the operating cams 2O and el?) mounted thereon and the came 61 is a double lobed one with the lobes thereof arranged to actuate the bars 51, 52 in the interval between actuations of the head 14 and while said head is pressed down. The pin prongs being thus crossed they are engaged by a pin 66 extending transversely across the end of a hollow plunger 67 which is slidably mounted in a vertical bearing 68 underneath the table. The plunger 67 which is oblong in cross section as will be noted by a comparison of Figs. 2 and 4C has fitted therein a head 69 for limited yielding movement with respect thereto. This head 69 is normally equipped with a notch 70 in its upper end adapted to receive therein the pin 66 so that when the head 69 is pressed upward with respect to the plunger 6T the top face 69" of said head may become operative. The head 69 is normally held retracted downward with respect to the plunger 67 by compression coil springs 7l housed in the plunger 67 and reacting against a flange 69b of the head G9. The head 69 is equipped with a depending projection 72 the lower end of which is engaged by the extremity of a lever arm 73 which is pivoted at 74 in a bracket mounting depending from the table base. The lever arm 73 has rigid therewith a rearward and upward extension 73 which is equipped with a roll 75 that engages a cam T6 fixed on the shaft 2l. This cam 76 is so arranged and proportioned that immediately after the bars 5l, 52 have Crossed the pin prongs, it will elevate the head 69 moving with it the plunger 67. In this movement the transverse pin 66 engages between the crossed prongs and presses them down in opposite directions against the bottom of the material. Then on a further upward movement of the head (if) and after the plunger 6T has been stopped by engagement underncath the material, the face G9 cornes into pressing engagementwith the prongs and flattens them down close and secure against the under surface of the material, the pin Gti being then received within the slot 70 and thus not interfering with the complete pressing` down of the prongs. Any suitable means may be provided for actuating the shaft 2l but for this purpose I show a disk or drum TT having a clutch engagement 78 with the shaft 2l, this clutch engagement being shown as of the roller type and serving to impart a one-way movement to the shaft 2l. The disk 'T7 is turned for its operative movement by a flexible band 'T9 which may extend down to be operated by a suitable treadle (not shown). For returning the disk T7 a coil spring 80 is shown anchored to a fixed portion of the frame work.v For coperation with the printing die 33 a suitable inking tape 8l may be provided which is carried on rolls 82, 83 at each side of the mounting and may be fed from one to the other intermittently either by hand or by any suitable automatic device (not shown). The operation of the mechanism having been set forth in connection with the description of the individual features need not be repeated in detail. The strip of tag material M equipped with pins as seen in Fig. 13 is supplied to the machine in strip form and introduced into the guideway 26 to be fed forward step-bystep by the feeding member 45, each feed movement corresponding to the length of a tag. The material piece to be tagged is introduced under the presser plate 12 which it will be understood is of a yielding character to permit this and upon actuation of the disk 77 through the band connection 7 9 to the treadle the sequence of operations already described is carried out, the foremost tag being sheared off and directly thereafter moved down upon the material, the pin prongs thereof being pressed through the material. Then while the tag and its pins are held securely in place by the plunger head 15, the instrumentalities for bending the pin prongs comprising the bars 51, 52 and the plunger 67 with its contained elements become operative as described and the bending of the pin points down against the surface of the material in crossed relation is completed. For normally holding the plunger 67 downward and so that the roll 75 is kept in engagement with the cam 76, any suitable means may be employed which is shown as a coil spring 74a having one end engaged with the shaft 74 and its other end anchored to the bearing bracket thereof. Likewise suitable springs 59a may be provided for holding the bars 59 in constant engagement with the cam 61, i. e., so as to open the bending slides 51, 52 when permitted bythe cam. I am aware'that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the apgended claims rather than to the foregoing Cescription to indicate the scope of the in vention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tag aflixing machine, comprising means for pressing a tag upon a material piece with the pin prongs projecting through the material, means for preliminarily crossing the pin prongs, and means for pressing the crossed pin prongs closely against the under surface of the material.

2. A tag aliixing machine, comprising means for pressing a tag to a material piece with the pin prongs thereof projecting through the material, means for preliminarily bending the pin prongs to cross the same, and a plunger equipped with an element to engage thecrossed pin prongs to press them back upon the material and also equipped with another element relatively movable with respect thereto for flattening the pin prongs and pressing them closely against the material.

3. A tag aiiixing machine, comprising means for preliminarily bending the pin prongs of a tag to cross the same, a hollow plunger having a cross vpin to engage the crossed pins and having also a presser head relatively movable with respect thereto for flattening the pin prongs andvpressing them closely against the material.

l. A tag aflixing machine, comprising a pair of slide bars mounted to act oppositely for preliminarily bending the pin prongs of a tag to cross the same, a plunger having a member to engage the crossed pin prongs to press theV same back upon the material, and a presser head relatively movable with respect thereto for engaging the pin prongs to flatten them and press them closely against the material- 5. A tag aflixing machine, comprising a guideway for a tag strip, means for severing individual tags, a tag applying head mounted for movement to apply the severed tag to a material piece, and a plunger associated with said head and having movement with respect thereto for engaging the pin head of the tag as it is applied to the material for holding the same secure for a pin bendlng operation.-

6. A tag ailixing machine, comprising a tag applying head mounted for movement to apply a tag to a material piece, a plunger associated with said head and movable with respect thereto for engaging the pin head of an applied tag to hold the same firmly for bending, and bending instrumentalities having means for preliminarily crossing the pin prongs of the tag and other means for fiattening the crossed pin prongs against the material.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

lVICTOR F. CARL. 

